Chapter 25 Chapter 20: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis

In July 1945, the I|58 submarine was again ready for combat missions.We were ordered to sail from Wugang on July 16 to operate on the enemy's ocean line of communication.We left the harbor to the sound of military music and the cheers of those who saw us off, and sailed on the cleared channel.We stayed one night at the manned torpedo base, where a special send-off ceremony was held for returning pilots.We have six such warriors on board.The next morning, escorted by twenty motorboats, we headed out to sea.At the entrance of the Bungo Channel, we made several deep water test dives and found that the periscope of the torpedo was faulty, so we had to return to the base to replace it. On the morning of July 18, we sailed south again, passing through the Bungo Channel.In order to prevent the attack of enemy submarines, we make zigzag movements at high speed while sailing.

Submarines in the surface state do not have weapons for combating enemy submarines in the underwater state.The only feasible way is to increase the speed.Since the submarine is equipped with air-to-air and sea-to-sea radars, it can detect enemies in the air and on the sea, measure the enemy's position and course, and thus avoid encounters with the enemy.During the day, enemy submarines dived underwater, and we also dived underwater to sail.During the night, everyone surfaced, and the game of cat and mouse resumed.In this way, it is sometimes possible to pass through sea areas where enemy submarines lay ambushes.Therefore, several times we were able to reach the enemy's ocean line of communication at high speed on the water.That night, our radar spotted a batch of American B|29 planes, which may be going to bomb the Japanese mainland.Not sure which city the bomb will fall on?

The moonlight began to brighten, and we had reached the line of communication between Saipan and Okinawa, where we were absolutely sure of encountering the enemy.As always, we had a drink at dinner and wished the drivers success.I briefed them on the current general situation.According to the order received, we should attack the enemy on the east coast of the Philippines. Submarine I|53 sailed at the same time as us, and it was supposed to be patrolling east of Okinawa. There was nothing to see on the sea except the endless sea.We decided to wait for the enemy at the intersection of the air routes leading to the enemy's main bases such as Wright Island, Saipan Island, Okinawa Island, Guam, Palau Islands, and Ulithi Islands.We know very well that even in such a vast sea, it is possible to encounter no enemy.We have manned torpedoes and we are determined to destroy any ship that comes our way.On the line of communication between Okinawa and Saipan, the sea is calm and the moon is bright. The conditions for attacking are very favorable, but there are no enemies.We still had no luck on the line of communication between Okinawa and Guam.

On the 22nd of July being a full moon, day and night suitable for an attack, we were in the line of communication between Wright and Guam.As the moon gets smaller, the opportunity to attack disappears.I just have to ask God to give us a good chance. On July 27, we were ordered to approach the enemy line of communication between Guam and Wright Island, and sailed west along the line of communication. At 5:30 on July 28, the radar spotted an enemy plane, and we dived immediately.At this time, our radar has been greatly improved, and we no longer have to worry about suddenly encountering enemy planes.

At 14:00, we went up to the periscope depth, and I was very happy to see a three-masted ship slowly approaching our boat in the periscope.This is a tanker.We have finally met our cunning enemy, and it seems that the enemy did not expect us to be here waiting for him.When we observed the tanker, we found another destroyer, which greatly complicated the situation.We dived underwater and approached the tanker.I issued two orders: back to the sky pilot ready to attack!All torpedo tubes ready for launch!Our noise profilers are not working very well.It is inappropriate to approach salvo distance without knowing the position of the destroyer.So I decided to use manned torpedoes, so I ordered: No. 1, No. 2 ready! Pilot No. 1 was a bit slow, so I decided to launch No. 2 first.On the phone I told them the enemy's course and speed. At 14:31, driver No. 2 started the engine and reported that it was ready.Then I gave the order to launch No. 2.After the last fixing was released, the torpedo rushed towards the enemy tanker.Ten minutes later, torpedo No. 1 was ready for launch.The driver shouted Long Live the Emperor and left.Both torpedoes appear to be traveling fine.The sea was blowing with the wind that is common in southern seas, but the tanker was still visible.After a long time, no explosion was heard.I anxiously continued to observe with the periscope.Finally, the tanker disappeared from view. Fifty minutes after the launch of torpedo No. 2, an explosion was heard; ten minutes later another explosion was heard.We surfaced, but a sudden gust of wind blew up and we couldn't see anything.We mourn the returning pilots who were with us not long ago, and pray for them, wishing them happiness in heaven.

On the ninth day after sailing from Wugang, the fresh vegetables in reserve have been eaten, and only some onions are left.Thereafter, we had to eat canned food from morning to night that we didn't like, especially canned sweet potatoes.While searching for the enemy, we headed towards the intersection of the two lines of communication from Wright Island to Guam, and from the Palau Islands to Okinawa. On July 29, the weather was bad all day, but there was no strong wind, so we continued on the water to our destination.We are now fully confident that, with our four large telescopes and radar, we will be able to spot the enemy before he can see us.Our only concern is encountering enemy subs in good visibility.Our crew and equipment are first class.If the Japanese subs had radar installed two years ago, we would not have lost as many subs.

I thought we could continue sailing on the water, but the visibility was getting smaller and smaller, and at 19:00 it was almost zero.We decided to dive down and wait for the moon to come out (moonrise time is 22 o'clock).After the dive, the chief engineer asked me how long I planned to stay underwater.He had to make some minor repairs, which he couldn't do while on the surface continuously.I told him to stay underwater for two hours and he was very happy. I went back to the officer's cabin to rest, and the watchman woke me up at 22:30.The submarine was sailing westward at two knots, the lights were dim, and it was very quiet except for the hum of the air conditioning and the squeaking of the elevator and rudder: two-thirds of the crew had gone to bed , They slept bare-chested on bunks, torpedoes and rice bags, and the rest were on duty or repairing diesel engines.There were many rats in the boat, and they were a real evil, but nothing could be done to get rid of them.Rats running around the kitchen making it impossible to sleep. At 22:30, the sergeant major on duty woke me up and reported that everything was fine. I got dressed and went to the prayer room first, and then to the command room.The duty officer had nothing new to report.I want to raise the periscope to observe the situation on the water surface.I order: the value change personnel will deploy the value change at night!My eyes are getting used to the darkness.Then, I ordered: dive to a depth of 18 meters!The speed of the submarine increased to three knots.

When the submarine surfaced to the specified depth, I ordered the night periscope to be slightly exposed to the surface, and quickly observed all around.Visibility has been much better and the horizon can be seen.The moon hung in the east, bright enough for the submarine to attack.I slowly raised the periscope a bit, searched the surroundings twice carefully, found nothing, and decided to surface.I ordered: Radar ready!The radar dish was raised above the water, but the aircraft was not detected.Our radar operator is specially trained and his skills are above average.After confirming that there were no enemy planes in the sky, I decided to search for the enemy on the water surface.I immediately gave the order: Everyone is in position, ready to float up!The alarm bell sounded, and the crew rushed to their posts, and the crew of the boat suddenly became active.A minute later, I received a report: the crew has been in place according to the combat deployment table!So I ordered: Float, main tank drained!High-pressure gas is injected into the main water tank to expel the water, and the submarine floats to the surface in no time.

As soon as the upper deck emerged from the water, I ordered the hatch of the command room to be opened.After hearing the command, the signal sergeant on standby immediately opened the hatch and climbed onto the bridge; then the navigator also went up.I continued to observe the sea with the night periscope.The sea radar is also ready to start.When the fresh air started to enter the boat, we stopped the drainage and switched to pumping water out.This saves high pressure gas.At this time, the navigator loudly reported: 900 to starboard, there seems to be an enemy ship!I put down the periscope, quickly climbed onto the bridge, and observed the direction indicated by the navigator with the far telescope.There was indeed a dark spot on the horizon in the moonlight.So I ordered: speed dive!The four people on the bridge quickly went down to the cabin.The last signal sergeant to disembark, he closed the hatch and made an immediate report.With my eyes pressed to the periscope, I saw the silhouette of a dark figure.I ordered again: open the vent valve!Sea water was poured into the tank, and the submarine began to dive.I keep my eye on the target so as not to lose touch with it.The submarine quickly dived underwater.We are used to these movements, so everything is going well.

As soon as the submarine submerged, I gave the order: Spot the enemy ship!All torpedo tubes ready to fire!Drivers get ready to attack!It was 23:08 at this time.After diving, we changed course slightly to the left, facing the warship we found.I still use the periscope to monitor the enemy and scan the surrounding water from time to time, but I can't find anything.The enemy ship was gradually approaching.I'm ready to shoot six mines.The enemy ship continued to sail towards me.Could this be a destroyer that has spotted us and is preparing to attack me?If the enemy ship does not change course, it is very difficult to hit it with a torpedo.

Thinking that this is a destroyer, I felt a little nervous for a while.The command room was pitch black, and people's faces could not be seen clearly.If people perceived the commander's anxiety, it was also based on his voice.We can't accurately measure the enemy's distance because we don't know its ship type.The noise direction finder couldn't hear the sound of its propeller either.This round black dot gradually turned into a triangle. At 23:09, I ordered: Prepare for a salvo of six mines!At the same time, it also ordered the No. 6 back-to-sky driver to be in place, and the No. 5 back-to-day driver to get ready. The enemy ships are getting bigger and bigger.If it still does not change course, it will pass directly over my boat.Distances were still difficult to determine, since the height of the enemy ship's masts could not be seen.To launch a torpedo and make it hit its target, the course, speed and distance of the target must be known.The captain at the periscope should work out these elements.If the target is a merchant ship, its course and speed can be measured by following it for a while; as for the distance, it can be measured by radar.But at this time, if the enemy discovers the submarine, it may change course before the torpedo salvo.If the ship type of the enemy ship is known, its speed can be calculated according to the number of revolutions of the main engine of the enemy ship measured by the noise direction finder.But this calculation has a large error.In order to ensure the hit, the error must be reduced as much as possible, and the method of pre-determining the salvo must be adopted.Since the course and speed were constantly changing, the salvo had to be timed in advance, and this was difficult at night; but less difficult in the brighter moonlight. The target was beginning to show up a little more clearly, its tall mast already visible.As might be expected, in front of us was a large enemy ship.It is now possible to determine its ship type.The enemy ship was twenty-seven meters high, either a battleship or a heavy cruiser: the target distance was close to three thousand six hundred and fifty meters.The intended salvo range was 1,830 meters and the sheer angle was 45° to starboard.The sonar reported that the enemy ship was sailing at high speed.At first I believed it, but my eyes found that the speed of the enemy ship was not very high; in my calculation I set it at twenty knots.I was so busy with the calculations of ordinary torpedo attacks that I didn't even give the order to prepare to launch a manned torpedo.Despite pleas from the Huitian pilots to attack, I decided to use manned torpedoes only to defeat normal torpedo attacks. The moon was behind us, and the enemy ship was now clearly visible, and we saw the two stern turrets and the caged mast.I think it was an Idaho type battleship.The crew anxiously awaited the order to fire the torpedo salvo.It was eerily quiet inside the boat.In this case, the captain's periscope noise direction finder becomes the eyes and ears of the whole boat.Except for the captain, no one knows the situation on the sea surface.The crew waited nervously for the next password.Back to the sky the driver kept asking me: what happened to the enemy?Where is the enemy?Why not let us strike? The moment for the most favorable salvo approached.I changed the angle of view to 60°, the distance was 1,370 meters, and I started to meet the enemy for salvo.Finally, I ordered loudly: ready to release!Torpedoes are fired at two-second intervals.Torpedo report: All torpedoes fired, everything is normal!Six torpedoes rushed towards the enemy in a fan.I took a quick look through the periscope and saw nothing suspicious.We turned to course parallel to the enemy ship and waited anxiously for the sound of the explosion.Every minute seemed to last forever.A jet of water finally rose near the starboard bow turret of the enemy ship.Soon, another column of water rose near the stern turret.Then there was a powerful flash of fire.Later, another jet of water rose near the No. 2 turret.It appears that the enemy ship has been enveloped in explosions.Whenever a torpedo hits an enemy ship, I shout: Hit!Hit!The crew danced for joy. The enemy ship could no longer move, but it was still floating on the water. I raised the daytime periscope to let the crew in the command room see the situation on the sea surface.Soon, there was another loud noise, which was much louder than the explosion of a torpedo hit.Later, I heard three explosions in a row.Six more explosions followed.The crew didn't know what was going on, and they shouted: Depth charge attack!I immediately comforted them and said that the enemy ship hit by us was exploding, and there were no other enemy ships nearby, so we would not be attacked. In the periscope, I saw a few flares on the enemy ship, but it didn't look like it was going to sink, so I prepared to fire another salvo on it.The Huitian driver kept pleading: The enemy has not sunk yet, send us there!Despite the darkness, the enemy ship was undoubtedly an easy target for them.But what if the enemy ship is sunk before they get there?Some people can't come back after launching a torpedo, so I don't want them to make unnecessary sacrifices.After comprehensive consideration, it was decided not to use manned torpedoes this time.The enemy ship cannot run away, and it can be dealt with leisurely.But we found enemy ships using sonar.There is no doubt that the enemy is trying to measure the distance of the submarine.Considering that the enemy might find us, we decided to dive into deep water and reload the torpedoes for the second salvo.After lowering the periscope, I ordered the noise direction finder and sonar to continue watching the enemy.We didn't know until after the war that it was close to sinking by this time.But at the time we didn't believe that hitting three torpedoes would sink it. Soon the enemy's sonar stopped working.As the submarine was trimmed due to the reloading of the torpedoes, it was dangerous to go up to the periscope depth.After reloading the torpedoes we went up to periscope depth, raised the periscope, but the enemy ship was out of sight.We sailed to where it might have sunk, but saw nothing.It was more than an hour after the enemy ship was struck by a mine, and now I am sure that it has sunk.With such serious damage, it cannot escape at high speed; even if it escapes, it must still be within our field of vision.Still, I'm always looking for something to justify its sinking.But in the dark night, it is difficult to find any floating debris.With regret, we sailed northeast to avoid being pursued by other ships sailing with the ship or aircraft covering it.After an hour on the surface, we dived underwater for our next move.It was later found out that the American heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis was sunk by us. The crew were in good spirits, but we couldn't cheer up the Huitian pilots.One of them seemed to have been greatly wronged, and asked me stubbornly with tears in his eyes, why I didn't send them to attack such a good target as a battleship.I reassured him that we would soon encounter enemy ships again. On July 30th we celebrated the previous day's victory.For lunch, we had our favorite broad bean rice, braised eel and spiced beef (both canned). On the evening of August 1st we received orders to sail north and changed our course.In order to search for the enemy, I decided to operate on the communication line between Okinawa and Ulisi Islands first, and then move to the communication line between Okinawa and Leyte Island.At noon, we dived underwater to wait for the enemy, but the enemy did not appear, so we surfaced at 15:00 and continued sailing north.We scoured the water with noise direction finders and periscopes before surfacing, but found nothing suspicious.As we head north at twelve knots on the surface, we spot the masts of merchant ships on the horizon.Judging from the hull, bridge and funnel, the displacement of the ship is about 10,000 tons.The merchant ship was sailing westward, and there was no security force to escort it. The distance was about ten nautical miles.Although we increased our speed to fifteen knots, the distance, instead of decreasing, gradually increased; and even at full speed we were unable to catch up with the fast-moving vessel, and therefore could not gain a position in front of her and attack.The moon was about to set, and even if we could get close to the enemy, we could not make a successful night attack.Yi｜No. 58 is equipped with a two-stroke small diesel engine.The same diesel engine was used on other submarines of the same type.Due to the insufficient weight of the machine, the boat was loaded with ballast.Japan's technical backwardness is really sad, and I can't help but think of the scene where the Yi｜24 sailed at a speed of 23 knots near the Hawaiian Islands. On August 2, we received the following reconnaissance report from the Yawata Communications Hub: Frequent enemy radio communications indicated a large force looking for a missing warship.The USS Indianapolis had been sunk three days earlier, and we did not expect this information to be connected to it.It was only known after the war that the captain and 315 crew members of the ship were rescued.At that time I expected that the survivors of the ship had been rescued, because there was still a considerable time before the ship sank before the distress call could be sent. On August 7th we learned by radio that the enemy had dropped a bomb which caused great damage to Hiroshima.Lieutenant Nishimura, who often listens to American radio broadcasts, said this was no ordinary bomb.I myself don't have and don't want to listen to American radio, lest I feel even more depressed.It is impossible for us to judge the current situation on board.Our duty requires us to continue fighting to the end as ordered.We should do everything possible to inflict maximum losses on the enemy.If I had listened to foreign radio broadcasts at that time, I would have known that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. Around March 8, 1944, Dr. Tanaka mentioned the atomic bomb in the House of Representatives.Since then, we've hoped to acquire the weapon so we could use it to turn the tide of battle.If we knew that the enemy had made an atomic bomb, our morale would be greatly reduced.From this point of view, our eyes and ears are blocked, but it is beneficial.But from another point of view, it is very dangerous to fight without knowing the enemy's new weapons and their effectiveness.In other words, senior officers must listen to the enemy's broadcasts, but have strong nerves not to panic when they hear anything.Unfortunately, my nerves just can't do that.When the B｜29 bomber that carried the atomic bomb to bomb Hiroshima took off from Tinian Airport (Marshall Islands), the crew already knew that some parts of the atomic bomb had been transported from the United States to Indianapolis in Tinian The news that the USS Indianapolis was sunk, they wrote a sentence on the atomic bomb casing: In order to avenge the sacrificed USS Indianapolis crew, present a gift from Japan.I only found out about this after reading an article in a magazine in March 1949.The title of this article is "The Atomic Bomber's Hiroshima Trip."The article talks about the atomic bomb being assembled in several parts, most of which were delivered by aircraft, but the largest and most important part was delivered by the cruiser USS Indianapolis. It has been twenty days since we left Wugang. We haven't showered for a long time, and we haven't changed our underwear. We always wear the same set of clothes day and night.Clothes were not washed and could not be dried even if they were washed.There are a lot of electrical equipment in the boat, and it is very dangerous to work in dirty and wet clothes.